Visit this 1,000-tree truffle farm near Ballarat and meet the super-smart truffle dogs Winston and Lottie. Your day starts at 10am, where you’ll get to see the truffle dogs in action, then enjoy the fruits of their labour in a tasting. Black Cat Truffles offers truffle hunts on weekends throughout June, July and August from $120 per person. More information here.
It may seem like truffles are having a moment, but did you know that they were first discovered by ancient Sumerians and Babylonians more than 4000 years ago? Ancient Romans and Greeks popularised their use, believing that truffles were an aphrodisiac, and throughout the Renaissance, the nuggets of black gold were commonly found on the tables of prestigious banquets (including ones by the Medici family).
Today, they're still considered a delicacy — perhaps partly because of their incredibly short harvest season. In Melbourne, that season runs in winter between June and the end of August, and many farms offer hunts for people keen to unearth their own truffles. You get rugged up, follow a cute truffle-hunting dog around some oak trees and dig up some pungent fungus.
If that sounds like fun, we've rounded up five working truffle farms outside of Melbourne that are offering hunts this year.
